After Years of Testing Hoses, These 9 Are the Absolute Best for Your Yard

Best Overall

Zero-G Ultra Flexible Durable Garden Hose

$66 at Amazon $67 at Wayfair $68 at Lowes

After testing over 40 garden hoses, the Zero-G Garden Hose remains our favorite. If you’ve ever struggled to use or move a bulky, heavy hose around your outdoor space, you'll especially love this lightweight (under 4 pounds) 100-foot hose.

We tested it for six months with almost daily use, including watering the grass and flower beds, filling up a hot tub, and clearing off our deck, and this hose is proven to be a durable, splurge-worthy gardening tool.

During our initial testing in our outdoor lab, we were impressed with how easy it was to coil or uncoil. After connecting it to a spigot, winding it on a hose reel, and pulling it through our testing environment, we thought this hose was well worth the higher price tag versus other hoses that didn't perform as well.

The lead-free couplings are designed to be crush-proof under loads up to 900 pounds. Plus, we loved how easily the hose connected to the spigot and felt its overall design was sleek compared to other options on the market.

We will point out that this hose is not best for colder climates as it is only rated for temperatures above 35 degrees Fahrenheit, which is slightly higher than most of the other hoses in this list. However, this is our favorite hose for most scenarios and should hold up for many gardening seasons to come.

_{Material: Vinyl, brass threads | Length: 100 feet | Diameter: 0.63 inch | Weight: 3.9 pounds empty}

Best Budget

Briggs and Stratton Garden Hose

$59 at Amazon $56 at Walmart $56 at Home Depot

The sturdiness and durability of this Briggs & Stratton hose blew us away during testing, and the nice price for such a strong hose makes it easily our best budget option. We used this hose to water our New Jersey garden beds, dragging it across our concrete and gravel patio, and it never punctured or reduced the water pressure (miraculously!)

We had no issues getting this attached to our spigot in a matter of seconds and getting well on our way to watering tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs. The hose didn't kink at all, and when we noticed a knot while reeling it back up on the hose reel, it unraveled super easily thanks to its thick, reinforced rubber build.

We will say that this is quite a heavy, cumbersome hose weighing 10 pounds. Winding it on a hose reel will solve the problem of having too much to drag around, although this got a bit caught up on our tiny hose reel. This hose delivers steady water pressure after an initial adjustment period and is ideal for tough environments like patios or rock gardens.

_{Material: Reinforced rubber | Length: 50 feet | Diameter: 0.75 inch | Weight: 10 pounds}

Best Rubber

Ag-Lite Rubber Garden Hose

$102 $81 at Amazon

If you are looking for a traditional rubber hose, our favorite is the Ag-Lite Rubber Garden Hose. This hose never kinked or leaked while testing, and we loved the comfortable grip on the handle, which made it easy to maneuver around our yard. It’s well-made and sturdy, yet seems very lightweight for a 75-foot rubber hose, at less than 12 pounds.

We also love the versatility of this hose. We tested it along with a wall-mounted hose reel and were able to attach it and wind it around the reel easily. We were also able to attach it to a hose nozzle and spigot without any issues.

According to the manufacturer, it can withstand water temperatures as much as 200 degrees and as low as 40 degrees. Plus, it's available in many lengths, from 6 feet up to 100 feet, so you can pick the right one for your watering needs.

We only had one minor hiccup with this hose. Occasionally, when we turned it on with the nozzle on, it would point in a direction we weren’t expecting, but this could be because of how we were gripping it. Other than that, we found it very reliable.

_{Material: Rubber | Length: 75 feet | Diameter: 0.63 inch | Weight: 11.44 pounds empty}

Best Expandable

Hydrotech Pro Series Expandable Max-Flow Hose

View on Walmart $60 at Target $56 at Home Depot

If heavy rubber hoses have weighed down your garden chores in the past, it’s time you tried an expandable hose instead. We love them for lightweight, stress-free watering, and had this exact experience testing the Hydrotech Expandable Hose. We marveled when it filled with water—it goes from 18 feet when empty to 50 feet when full. 

When we received this new hose, we were immediately intrigued. It's flexible, bright green, and promises to be leakproof (which we later found was true). At less than 5 pounds, it’s extremely lightweight and easy to drag around. It did not take long at all to fill up, and the pressure remained steady while using it.

Our old vinyl hose used to kink with every use, but not this hose. The Hydrotech hose was easy to wind up, yet still long enough to water most of the backyard at 50 feet (though there are many size options, all the way up to 200 feet). 

The option we tried wasn’t long enough to reach tomato beds on the side of our house, so we wish we had gone with the 75-foot option—but that truly was our only complaint after using this quality, easy-to-use hose.

_{Material: Hybrid | Length: 50 feet | Diameter: 0.75 inch | Weight: 5 pounds}

Most Durable

Stanley Fatmax Professional Grade Water Hose

$85 $67 at Amazon

If you want a hose that feels heavy-duty but is also flexible and easy to store, you’ll love the Stanley Fatmax Professional Grade Water Hose. At 14.37 pounds, the 100-foot hose is one of the heaviest on our list. Despite its length and weight, we were able to manually coil up the hose and store it on a hose stand, even without the help of a reel. We also noticed no wear and tear on the hose when dragging it around our property. 

Like our best lightweight pick, the Giraffe Tools Garden Hose, this hose has a collar or handle that makes it easy to grip and thread onto the spigot or watering attachments. We found it easier to thread than other hoses we’ve used without it in the past. However, we did find it a little harder to unthread on the spigot and worry that struggling with the aluminum coupling over time might cause durability issues. 

Although it’s easy to maneuver empty, we did find the hose pretty heavy when full, so this is something to keep in mind. Also, it’s only available in bright yellow. While this can add a pop of color to your landscape and make it easy to spot, this color might not be ideal if you are looking for something that blends in better with your yard.

_{Material: Polyurethane (PU), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Aluminum | Length: 100 feet | Diameter: 0.63 inch | Weight: 14.37 pounds empty}

Best Lightweight

Giraffe Tools Garden Hose

$82 $73 at Amazon

For a very lightweight 100-foot hose—barely 7 pounds—we love the Giraffe Tools Garden Hose. We dragged this hose around our driveway, patio, and yard with ease, and it performed well during a variety of tasks: it was hooked up to a sprinkler and hose timer to keep our garden watered, connected to a hose nozzle to water plants, and even connected to a misting fan to help keep us and our dog cool. 

This hose has a comfortable handle (sometimes called a collar) on each end that swivels and can be lined up over the coupling, which helps you thread and unthread it easily. This makes it much gentler on your fingers than it would be if you had to thread and unthread the nickel-plated brass coupling itself.

We think this feature is especially useful if you use your hose for a variety of purposes and have to remove it often from a sprinkler, nozzle, wand, or timer. The collars do slide down the hose and need to be repositioned at times, but we didn't find it much of a hassle.

While admittedly, this hose was a little too long for our everyday needs and kinked once or twice, it was super easy to wind onto a hose reel for storage. We also liked that it was long enough if we ever needed to water our front porch plants, which we would never attempt doing with a heavier hose we’ve used in the past. If you need a smaller hose, we like that it’s available in a range of sizes from 2.5 to 100 feet. 

_{Material: Polymer, nickel-plated brass | Length: 100 feet | Diameter: 0.63 inch | Weight: 7.04 pounds empty}

Best Kink Resistant

Craftsman Heavy-Duty Professional Grade Water Hose

$90 $85 at Amazon

After using the Craftsman Professional Grade Water Hose, we are pretty confident we’ll never buy another hose again. This is impressively thick and durable, but one feature we really loved was the kink-resistance. In the past, our previous hoses never impressed us much and got tangled in the lawn, but this heavy-duty option is one made to last and stays kink-free every time we use it.

Though it was a bit stiff on first use, its flexibility increased over time, and we didn’t have trouble dragging it around the lawn and to our garden beds. It felt about the same when filled with water versus not filled with water, too.

Along with its incredible ability to coil on its own and not get twisted up, it’s surprisingly powerful. We even got sprayed a few times when testing it and taking photos, so we turned down the water at the spigot so that the pressure wasn't too strong. Since it fills so quickly and delivers great pressure off the bat, we think this will save lots of time and energy watering.

Though this one is a bit on the heavier side (similar to our best budget option), we think that the tradeoff is fine for the high quality, great water pressure it delivers, and easy, tangle-free use.

_{Material: Polyurethane, PVC | Length: 100 feet | Diameter: 0.63 inch | Weight: 8.2 pounds}

Best Metal

Bionic Steel Garden Hose

$50 $40 at Amazon $60 at Wayfair $53 at Home Depot

If, like us, you’ve run the gamut of hoses, we think a stainless steel option could be worth a try. They’re surprisingly flexible and tangle-free, which are just some of the reasons we love the Bionic Steel Metal Garden Hose. 

One of our favorite features of this, after testing it in our yard, is the segmented, metal design, which makes it flexible and kink-resistant. The metal feels heavy-duty, and we were confident using it across a wood deck and concrete that it wouldn’t puncture or break, though the hose itself might get hot if stored in direct sun, so keeping it in a deck box would be a good solution.

The water pressure remained steady at all times, regardless of how the hose was maneuvered or positioned. When we installed it on a reel on a third-story deck, it performed just as well despite a nearly 90-degree turn as it hung over the edge.

Though this hose has limited flexibility (it's metal, after all), we felt it was flexible enough for our lawn and garden tasks. We actually think it coils more easily than a lot of other rubber hoses. When installed on a hose reel, it reeled up and dispensed very nicely.

We like that it comes with a spray nozzle, but it isn't the best we’ve tried. It’s plastic and very basic, but you can add your own nozzle if you want something more sturdy.

_{Material: Stainless steel | Length: 50 feet | Diameter: 0.63 inch | Weight: 3 pounds}

Best Retractable

Giraffe Tools Retractable Garden Hose Reel

$196 $157 at Amazon View on Giraffetools.com

If you are a new homeowner looking for your first hose and a place to store it, you’ll love the Giraffe Tools Retractable Garden Hose Reel. While this wall-mounted system requires setting aside time for installation, we loved the retractable reel's space-saving design and matching hose nozzle and hose. 

This is a longer hose than others on our list, at 130 feet, but we found it very easy to maneuver and store. The retractable hose locks to the length you need it for and easily winds up after, so you don’t need to worry about tripping over a longer hose. It is one of the smallest in diameter, at half an inch, but that also makes it a good choice for a compact yard. 

The included nozzle has nine spray settings and an on/off handle that controls the water pressure, which we especially liked when watering delicate plants. While we did find the installation tricky (we struggled with finding the right hardware and instructions for our concrete wall, and it occasionally leaked if not on tight enough), and it is pricier than buying just a hose, we liked how easy it was to use this hose and neatly store it. 

_{Material: Polyproplene | Length: 130 feet | Diameter: 0.50 inch | Weight: None listed}